The Architect's NewspaperNorth America's lumber industry helped define what it means to build in the modern era. With the invention of the light balloon–frame, lumber became an indispensable resource to the quickly expanding United States in the 19th century. Over the past 150 years, the process and politics of wood have shaped a highly efficient industry that still provides the vast majority of the U.S.’s house-building material. With new technology, wood is pushing into new territories, and the lumber industry is bracing to respond to these demands.READ MORE

FPSThe Forest Products Society (FPS) has issued a call for papers for its 72nd International Convention (IC), June 11-14, 2018, at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin. The annual IC is the premier event for forest products industry leaders, researchers and students, offering a world-class platform to share research, discoveries and scientific advances.

The 2018 theme is "Forest Products — Key to a Sustainable Future." The program will feature specific sessions on wood-based building products, forest-based bioproducts and education. For enhanced networking and an expanded audience, the 2018 IC will be held in conjunction with TAPPI's International Conference on Nanotechnology.READ MORE

Independent RecordLogging in roadless areas, restrictions on mountain biking and the appropriateness of mixing fire mitigation with trail development highlighted objections to a proposed forestry project south and west of Helena. On Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Service held an official objection meeting for the Ten Mile-South Helena Project. The project area encompasses more than 60,000 acres and includes timber harvest and prescribed burning focused on wildfire protection, along with trail maintenance and construction.READ MORE

Wood Resources International LLCSawmills and pulpmills in the US Northwest have been struggling to
build log inventories for the winter season because of the unusually long fire season this year, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.READ MORE

The GuardianMore than a dozen U.S. and European companies have been importing timber from a Brazilian logging firm whose owner is implicated in one of the most brutal Amazonian massacres in recent memory, according to a Greenpeace Brazil investigation.READ MORE

BloombergForests give us shade, quiet and one of the harder challenges in the fight against climate change. Even as we humans count on forests to soak up a good share of the carbon dioxide we produce, we are threatening their ability to do so. The climate change we are hastening could one day leave us with forests that emit more carbon than they absorb. Thankfully, there is a way out of this trap — but it involves striking a subtle balance.READ MORE

Missoula CurrentIncreased costs and problems taking beetle-killed trees from the forest make them less valuable for commercial uses the longer they stand, a report released Wednesday by the University of Montana found. The study, authored by UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research and the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, examined the impacts that mountain pine beetles have on timber value and quality when compared to harvesting and processing.READ MORE

Capital PressA logging ban in China's natural forests will likely increase its demand for foreign logs, but the impact on the Northwest's timber market is uncertain. Though the country will need to import more logs, it's unclear how motivated Chinese buyers will be to compete with domestic sawmills, which are currently offering high prices, experts say.READ MORE

Woodworking NetworkIncreased demand for railroad ties could drive prices for hardwoods higher. One of the largest railroads in the U.S. said it must replace millions of wooden railroad ties under its tracks, claiming they’re degrading at a faster rate than expected.READ MORE